1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transducer suspension systems and more particularly to a suspension system and method for efficient manufacture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Direct access storage devices (DASD), or disk drives, store information on concentric tracks of a rotatable magnetic recording disk. A magnetic head or transducer element is moved from track to track to record and read the desired information. Typically, the magnetic head is positioned on an air bearing slider which flies above the surface of the disk as the disk rotates. In some recently proposed disk drives, the slider (or carrier) rides on a liquid film or bearing on the disk. A suspension assembly connects the slider to a rotary or linear actuator. The suspension provides support for the slider.
Examples of suspension systems are shown in the following references: U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,543 issued Jul. 10, 1973 to King; U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,770 issued Aug. 17, 1976 to Spash et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,716 issued Feb. 10, 1987 to Wakabayashi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,119 issued Jul. 26, 1988 to Noguchi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,141 issued Mar. 7, 1989 to McConica et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,368 issued Apr. 30, 1991 to Bosier et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,344 issued Aug. 30, 1994 to Nagase; U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,432 issued Jan. 24, 1995 to Noro et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,179 issued Feb. 21, 1995 to Sendoda; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,597 issued Feb. 13, 1996 to Bennin et al.
The suspension must meet several requirements. The suspension must be flexible and provide a bias force in the vertical direction. This is necessary to provide a compensating force to the lifting force of the air bearing in order to keep the slider at the correct height above the disk. Also, vertical flexibility is needed to allow the slider to be loaded and unloaded away from the disk. Another requirement of the suspension is that it must provide a pivotal connection for the slider. Irregularities in operation may result in misalignment of the slider. The slider is able to compensate for these problems by pitching and/or rolling slightly to maintain the proper orientation necessary for the air bearing. Another requirement of the suspension is that it must be rigid in the lateral direction. This is needed to prevent the head from moving side to side, which would result in the head reading the wrong track.
As disk drives have become smaller in size, the recorded track density has increased dramatically. This has necessitated the use of smaller and smaller heads and suspensions. However, these smaller geometries of the suspension and head make manufacture much more difficult. In particular, it has become extremely difficult to attach the electrical wires along the suspension and connect them to the head. The process of connecting the wires to the head may cause unwanted permanent deformation of the delicate flexible end of the suspension. This in turn may cause the slider head to be misoriented and result in its inability to maintain a proper air bearing with resulting disk drive failure and loss of data. What is needed is a suspension design and method of manufacture which lends itself to these smaller geometries.